The Company Led by Michael Krusch, the tiny boutique tech company from Berlin called Tegeler Audio Manufaktur is now blossoming into a stable and serious competitor amongst the audio gear makers. Their team is still small, but judging by the quality and quantity of product (like the one we will talk about tegeler audio creme) they are able to push on the market I think we may be watching at the early footsteps of a small giant. The company has managed to expand its line of products to 9 analog pieces of gear that can be seen in studios all over the world. What those guys bring to the table is impeccable sound quality for very not a lot of money. It doesn’t take a lot to recognize their passion for tubes and transformers. They clearly draw inspiration from units that are half a century old yet are keeping an eye on the future by packing their units with modern sophisticated technology targeting the needs of engineers today. To be more specific - think of features like motorized potentiometers controlled remotely from plugins within your DAW for ease of recall; VU meters displayed over LCD; dummy plugins that can store visual settings of your fully-analog gear etc. The Crème The Crème is a stereo-only VCA compressor and passive equalizer that can be found in two different versions. One includes all the fancy futuristic features I mentioned above for a slightly higher price and one gives you a fully analog experience for a smaller cost. Today I’m reviewing the latter. The Details I am certainly not one to give credence to stereotypes, but that unit is definitely German-built. And if Germans are known for anything it’s that they approach any type of engineering and design with incredible perfection, attention to details and immense efficiency. All of those trades can be found in Crème from the mesmerizing unboxing experience, brutal component efficiency to its stunning performance. Starting from the packaging . Have you ever unboxed an Apple product you would know they take the experience seriously? Everything fits together as tightly as possible and the materials scream “premium”. Now, take that feeling and multiply it by a hundred. That is the experience Tegeler brings to your door when the courier rings on the bell. My Crème, for which I paid full price, was packaged in a wooden treasure chest with rope handles and vintage metal latches. Everything inside the chest was packed so tightly it actually took some serious efforts to take it out. The spacious foam-padded chest itself, I found, is the most comfortable and appropriate box for cables and other accessories. I already used it for that purpose on a mobile recording session and quickly got the attention of everybody as soon as I arrived at the location. And yes, from time to time people do ask me if I’m transporting ammunition based on the looks of the box, but the overall verdict is - stunning packaging. Earlier I mention the brutal component efficiency and I’d like to elaborate on that as it is tightly bound to the Crèmes’ performance. This processor is based on a Pultec EQP and an SSL Bus Compressor. I don’t know if you have ever opened a real vintage Pultec or any of its high-end clones, but inside you would often find a cluster of tightly packed components. The abundance of transformers, transistors, capacitors, valves and enough wire to hang yourself from the ceiling is often making it hard to spot the PCBs. In the case of the original Pultecs, the outside-mounted humongous transformers have enough weight to make your gym-membership obsolete. With Tegeler products that is not the case. If you open their dual-mono EQP-1, you will find that most of the space is occupied by air. Yes, the EQP-1 has both input and output transformers as well as 2 valves, spread over 2 bear-looking PCBs, but the lack of components is noticeable. Some of it might be caused by a sort of visual illusion as the chassis is almost twice the depth of an original Pultec, while the need for stupid amounts of wire has been replaced by modern complex PCBs. After all, the last 50 years of engineering have definitely helped shrink some components. By now you have probably noticed that I’m referring to the insides of Tegelers EQP-1 and not the Crème, but that is simply because I didn’t have the guts to open my unit and there’s a lack of pictures on the internet. Though it’s safe to say the comparison is fair as the Crème is worryingly light. That suggests a similar pattern for the guts of the Crème. This is where the mystery begins. The Crème is most definitely empty compared to the gear it’s based on, yet its performance is nothing short of shocking. The only way this can be achieved is by absolute brutal component efficiency. It is like the engineers at Tegeler have found a way to source the necessary components and slash them in half with no compromise to the sound. Performance If I need to find one word that can describe the performance of this unit, that would be “Creme”. Slap this on your mix bus or any other stereo source and it is like you’re pouring a thick and sweat layer of creme over your tracks. That is what a real Pultec EQ combined with an SSL compressor would do. Is it really an SSL Bus Comp with a stereo EQP? The people at Tegeler strongly suggest they are not cloning the two legendary processors by using words like “inspired”, “based on a Pultec principle” and “SSL-like sound”. That being said, if the unit was split in two with the compressor placed in an SSL chassis and the EQ wearing the Pultec logo it would not make a blind bit of difference to me if they are authentic or not. I strongly recommend Warren Huarts review on YouTube as he compared the Crème to his SSL Bus Comp and mastering-grade EQPs with shocking results. The two chains were not only scary similar but in some instances, the Crème prevailed. On several occasions, Warren himself ended up preferring the Crème over its $10,000 competition. I had the opportunity to test the Crème against our SSL XLogic Bus compressor as well as the original Bus Compressor found in our 48-channel G4000 desk. The Crème definitely fell close to the XLogic with smoother less aggressive compression while the G-Comp found in the desk was flexing its aggressive muscles on every source I fed into it. That is particularly because those early desk built-in models were based on a modified DBX160. The quick answer to the question “Is it really an SSL Bus Comp with a stereo EQP” is yes and no. Yes - it does apply compression in the same way and the equalization is in the style of Pultec. Like I said before - this processor could actually fool you when compared to the “real deal”. Not - only because it doesn’t carry the same transformers and valves as the original Pultec EQs. The old Pultec EQP has the reputation of being a trick box or as a friend of mine calls it - “the better button”. Just by running signals through its internals the sound gets infused with thickness and depth. That “trick” has become so popular amongst engineers in the past few decades that many plugins manufacturers today are emulating similar low-harmonic distortions. Their software EQPs can thicken up signals even without dialing any equalization. That trick is missing from the Crème, but there is a reason for it. I personally got in touch with the people who build this processor and asked them why have they not included any transformers or valves in it. Especially after most of their other units are packed with them. I mean... they even make a reverb unit that uses valves and transformers to color its sound. “With the Crème I found it better to design it more versatile, to have a unit that can be in the mix bus every time with every music. Only the compressor and EQ part should introduce a sound. That’s why I haven’t used tubes and transformers, although I really like them...The filter circuit of the Crème is the same design as the Pultec, but without the rest of the circuit.” Michael Krusch I have to say I do understand why Mr. Krusch went with this design. The Pultec “trick” I mentioned earlier is something I certainly wouldn’t use on every mix. It is a very particular sound that has its own implementations. The Crème, on the other hand, is something I could permanently solder to the outputs of my summing mixer and sleep well at night. The EQ section The top-end is incredibly smooth, but that’s not the kind of smooth you get from valves gently brushing on the transients. It’s rather caused by a very broad bandwidth to the curve of the shelving EQ. Passive designs are known to leave the least mark on the source. The lack of gain results in a lack of harshness anywhere you boost. The shelving high-frequency EQ can perform up to +5 dB boosts in 1 dB increments via a stepped potentiometer. No matter how hard I tried I could not get any source to sound bad at any of the frequency choices with even +5 dB boosts. In the regions between 10 and 12 kHz, I seem to add tremendous presence, while anything above affects the so-called “air” frequencies. The more you boost - the more you open up the mix bus without harshness in hi-hats or unpleasant siblings associated with most plugins or cheaper hardware units. The high-band on the Crème is simply - elegant and silky. Similarly to the high-one, the low-end shelving EQ gives you loads of frequency options to choose from starting from 200 Hz and going all the way down to 20 Hz. Boosts in the lower registers of that shelving EQ seem to add weight to the source materials. The higher registers on the other hand like 200 Hz can add fullness to the tracks without any unwanted muddiness. If you’re specifically looking for a Pultec tonal coloration I would say look elsewhere as that magic comes from heavy transformers and dusty old valves. Other than that, the Crème performs every single bit as a Pultec EQP. The Compressor The VCA found in the Crème is every bit as good as its EQ section. It has the same “Auto” release found on the SSL Bus Comp with the added bonus of a 1.5 ratio, which I can’t stop loving. The 1.5 ratio is a setting I had never used before with any serious intention, but it is quickly becoming one of my favorite settings. It does give me that same SSL-like glue without leaving a dent in my mixes. There’s not much more to say about the compressor other than it does exactly what it is meant to do. It is a versatile tool that can tame down everything you throw at it. I am sure there are plenty of reviews out there that can go more in-depth of the Crème’s compression. Here I am going to be as bold as saying: you’d be safe reading even a review for the SSL G Bus Compressor and will get an idea on how the Crème performs. The magic switch For me personally one of the coolest features of the Crème is the switch that changes the positioning of the EQ and Compressor on the signal path. It seems like something simple and insignificant but damn it... more companies need to adopt that switch. Being able to A-B the two positions is fantastic. That is something you simply can not do with an original SSL Bus Comp and a pair of Pultecs. Forget about keeping any type of perspective while re-patching those units. The only way to truly A-B is by using the switch found on the Crème. Phantom Plugin Another eye-catching feature is the dummy plugin the Crème ships with. That makes recalls fun and enjoyable. All you have to do is place the dummy plugin on the track that feeds the Crème and dial the settings from the hardware unit. That is super efficient for saving your settings within the DAW. It is simply clever. The Negatives The price of the unit in the UK is just over 1,400 GBP (around 1,800 USD) with free shipping. Considering what performance the Crème offers this isn’t a high price for the unit, but there are tradeoffs, and they are mainly in EQ flexibility. You can’t have individual control over the left and right sides. no frequency cuts. You can’t bypass the EQ and Comp individually, but rather bypass the whole unit. Verdict This is a fantastic tool that can make a difference. It doesn’t do something you can’t do with plugins, but I guarantee the Crème will do it better than any software emulation. Regardless of your style of music you can use this as a very effective mastering processor or just mix into it. It can glue the music in a very coherent way, by adding sweetness, thickness, punch, air, and openness to any mix. If you are in a professional environment and have experience with high-end analog gear - you will be swimming in very familiar waters. On the other hand, if you are on a tight budget and have little to none analog gear in a bedroom environment, but wish to up your game with something analog - the Crème would be the perfect introduction to that world. It is a high-end mastering-grade processor on a semi entry-level price point.

By Antelope Audio The compressor I want to talk about today probably isn’t worth living for, but it is worth buying an Antelope interface with a dedicated FPGA just so you could run the plugin. Antelope Audio calls it the STAY-LEVIN and it is one of the very few recreations (analog or digital) of a historic piece of gear. As the name suggests I am talking about the legendary GATES STA-LEVEL compressor that has built the reputation of “the holy grail” of compressors since its birth in 1956. The original hardware unit costs around $5,000 and while that’s just a fraction of what some Fairchilds can go for - it is still one of the greatest compressors ever made. As far as I know, the only 2 companies that make hardware recreation of it are Retro and Wes Audio. As plugins go - the only copy that’s worth investing in is the STAY-LEVIN by Antelope. The reason why you won’t see many software companies modeling that beast is its rarity. Even if once in a decade the genuine STA surfaces from the deep corners of the internet - very few people can judge if it sounds as it’s supposed to sound. And yes... you can forget about finding spare valves! I do admit I am hardly a person that could judge an STA clone as I myself have not had the pleasure of using the genuine unit, but I have used several Gates compressors one of which is the Level-Devil at The Friary Studios. STAY-LEVIN TUBES Before we dive in the Stay-Levin I’d like to touch on how tube compressors actually work and what are the differences between Optical and Vari-Mu compressors. Normally a tube would be fed with a steady bias current (voltage) that assures a constant harmonic character and saturation. That keeps the tube heated to a certain level, which maintains a certain stable distortion characteristic. The process of biasing is essential for tubes as it helps to balance the frequency image of the audio that’s passing through it. Here is the basic equation: less voltage = less low-end, more noise and more top-end more voltage = more low-end, less noise and less top-end (warmer sound) Opto vs Vari-Mu In optical compressors that voltage is set to a certain value and does not vary. Even though most inexperienced engineers that I’ve come across associate tubes with optics due to the highly LA2A-clone saturated market, Opto compressors are technically not true tubes. What most professionals consider true tube compression is that of Vari-Mu compressors. As the name suggests that the type of processor is capable of varying the bias fed into its tubes thus controlling the amount of gain and distortion produced by the tube. The Stay-Levin is an emulation of a true Vari-M compressor and is a great introduction to this word for anyone lacking the obscene amount of money needed for purchasing and maintaining any half-decent Vari-Mu compressor. Tracking The thing I love using our Level-Devil for is tracking vocals and bass guitars. I tried doing the same with the Stay-Levin and the results were nothing short of great. If you haven’t used a Vari-Mu compressor for those two applications I’d say treat it a bit like an optical leveling amplifier. When replacing the LA2A with a Stay-Levin in the classic vocal chain (1176 feeding into LA2A), the results are very similar. The Stay-Levin rounds up the body of the vocals and gives it more muscle if that makes any sense. What it does differently from the LA2A is that it places the vocal forward in the mix and if feels like the singer is right in front of my nose, which can be very useful for the more pop-orientated genres. Of course, as all compressors go the Vari-Mu's are not always great for all singers. Some styles of singing are not forgiving for those compressors. Running a bass guitar through the Stay-Levin gives it a similar effect as the one on vocals. The rich harmonics added to the signal are thickening up the sound, but one must do it with caution. The original STA, as well as its recreation by Retro, are both known to sometimes break transients of bass-heavy signals dues to the extra added punch in the subs. We have to consider the capabilities of the equipment in the 50s and the overall musical scene. Music back then was not nearly as rich as it is today in the sub-frequency levels. Mix Bus My all-time favorite application though is on my Mix Bus. When placed at the end of the chain right before my limiters what the Stay-Levin brings to the table is nothing short of shocking. That works especially well on sonically rich music like rock and pop. What happens is the low end thickens up due to the added harmonic distortion while the mid-range jumps out of the speakers and tries to grab me by the throat. The best words to describe the sensation are thickness, depth, and richness. All those things subsequently add perceived volume and the track does sound louder, bigger and angrier. While we talk about mix busses and thickness - I would recommend to aways have a high- pass filter after the Stay-Levin and roll off the unnecessary sub-frequency content as a preemptive measure to go easy on your limiters. The more you put the Stay-Levin to work on the mix bus the more you get a sensation of pumping. Now, that is not the unpleasant “pumping” that happens on over-compressed signals with a slow attack and fast release, but rather feel like extra depth. One thing I should warn you about is to be very careful as to how you control the plugin. When placed on a Mix Bus you absolutely have the turn the input level all the way to the left (0) and the output all the way to the right (+20). To achieve the effect I was talking about you literally have to move the input level by 0.5 to 1 dB up. That minor bump on the input will prompt you to compensate for the output with at least 5 dB. Conclusion This is a fantastic piece of software and regardless if it sounds similar to a genuine STA I do not want to mix without it. A while back I discovered that the Saturation Knob by Softube is a sort of “Better” button for my mix bus. The added low distortion in odd harmonics makes everything sound just better. In a very similar way, the Stay-Levin is a plugin that I want to permanently glue to my mix bus. I was made in a digital word (education and experience-wise), but the more time passes the more I revert to analog gear, which is opposite to what most engineers are doing. The more I run signals through real valves the less I want to reach for software alternatives. That being said the Stay-Levin is one that WILL STAY on my mix bus for as long as Antelope would support its software! If you already own an Antelope product with a built-in FPGA I believe it’s a crime not to own the Stay-Levin.